Because every picture tells a story . . .
One simple stock video clip of wildflowers, filmed low down in a restaurant car park, has sold 66 times and earned £373 — and it’s still selling. We take a look inside our Getty/iStock Hot Sales to show how stock earnings can accumulate over years, why shooting variations matters, and why you shouldn’t give up on a portfolio before it has time to mature
Building SpeedData Pro with AI sometimes felt less like software development and more like trying to control a forest full of exceptionally clever rats. Files vanished, workflows broke and “helpful” agents occasionally caused more damage than they fixed. But those disasters taught one of the most important lessons of the entire project: AI can be extraordinarily powerful — as long as you remain firmly in control.
What started as a simple experiment with AI and photography became something much bigger. Frustrated by endless metadata, prompts and different stock agency requirements, we began asking a different question: what if AI could be taught how stock contributors actually work? This is the story of the conversations, mistakes and lightbulb moments that eventually led us to build SpeedData Pro.
As a stock photography portfolio grows, so does the workload behind it. Titles, descriptions, keywords, different images and endless uploads — what once felt like a manageable part of the job gradually became a repetitive bottleneck. This is the story of how years of manual metadata turned “good enough” into frustration, growing backlogs and, eventually, one simple question: surely there had to be a better way?
Every stock photography journey starts with the shoot — but it rarely ends there. A planned return to photograph tiger cubs at Manor Wildlife Park took an unexpected turn when the animals were unavailable and a casual mention of wallaby joeys changed the entire day. RAW DISCOVERY begins the Pouch to Platform series, following what really happens from the moment an opportunity appears to the long workflow that comes afterwards.